Day 4 Monday January 8, 2018
After a few days where the air temperature never got out of the teens, a high of thirty degrees seemed like a nice relief. With that in mind I left the hotel with a bit of a spring in my step. So, it was across the street and down into the subway for my trip uptown...
My plan was to take the train up to 97th Street, then walk south through the snowy Central Park. I've walked in the park countless times over the decades, but this would be the first time in the snow. The folks who clear the sidewalks and paths had done a great job and it made for easy walking.
Cutting across into the park I did see something odd. Something out of a forgotten time... But no, I didn't check for a dial tone.
The park entrance at 97th Street is just north of the city reservoir. The wind blowing across the lake added to the cold. The reservoir hold a billion gallons of water and is surrounded by a mile and a half trail. It's never been the principal water supply for the city, but was built in 1860 as a back-up that was supposed to be able to last two weeks. Under modern usage, today it might last four days.
South of the reservoir sits the Great Lawn. In the summer of 1991, Mary and I joined 700,000 of our closest friends for a Paul Simon concert here. There were very few people out and about this morning.
South of the Great Lawn sits the open air Delacorte Theater, the iced over Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle. The name comes from the Italian for "beautiful view." The original plan was to have the castle included when Central Park opened to the public in 1859. Due to the costs, it was delayed fifteen years.
The city doesn't allow access to the upper platform by the flag. But, you can climb the circular stairway up to the secondary platform for a view of the park and the Delacort Theater.
After leaving the castle, I entered a section of the park known as The Ramble. It's a series of twisting footpaths through the woods. For the most part, I had the place to myself. In a city of eight and a half million people, this still seemed a little weird.
The paths of the Ramble would eventually bring me to what's simply named The Lake. I've been in this park in the winter a few times, but have never seen the lake frozen enough to walk over.
I'll admit to some apprehension as I stepped out onto the ice. But, when was I going to get this chance again...
On the other side of the lake, I picked up the path again and started working my way around. As I walked, I saw a few horse drawn carriages. While I felt a little sorry for the horses being out in the cold, I really felt for the guys operating the pedicabs.
On the southern end of the lake I went looking for the Bow Bridge. It's been a highlight of the park since its completion in 1862. This is from the lake shore.
The bridge itself... Note the folks in the shrubbery on the left.
After my first excursion onto the lake ice, I decided to try it again for perhaps a different view of the bridge.
When I walked back across the bridge, the camera crew was moving their gear a little further down the path. They're NYU students working on a film project. I wished them luck and started walking again.
Bethesda Terrace and Fountain are just a short walk along the lake shore. The fountain takes its name from the New Testament. John 5:1 tells of Bethesda, a pool of water outside Jerusalem thought to have healing powers. John was walking past accompanied by Jesus when they encountered a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. Jesus asked if he wanted to be cured. The man said yes, but he was unable to get into the healing waters. Jesus instructed the man to stand and walk as he had been already been cured.
As I was standing here taking it all in, I heard some light, acoustic guitar. Somehow the music just added to the quiet of the scene. I did pass the guitarist, dropped $5 into his tip bag and told him so. Seriously, if this guy had an album, I would have bought it. I still don't know how he could play like that in such cold. He was amazing.
Just south of Bethesda Terrace is The Mall. Fredrick Olmsted, the park's designer, envisioned it as a grand promenade and central feature of the park. Elm saplings were planted up and down the sides. The elm trees create a canopy in the spring.
Even though it was still biter cold, the hot dog vendors were still out in force...
Sure, you really don't know what's in them or how old the water is that keeps the hotdogs warm. But, they certainly are tasty. Just for kicks, I bought one. The bun was toasted and warm. The dog was indeed hot. The mustard... ice cold. It made for an interesting experience.
The original plan was to meet Brad, an old college friend, for lunch. He got slammed with meetings, so we agreed to drinks after work instead. So, instead of working my way towards his office, I ducked into a coffee shop to warm up and consider a plan.
I decided to stop back at the hotel since it was only a few blocks away by this point. It was a fortuitous decision in the end. It's true that you never really know what to expect on the streets of New York. For there on the ground, partially obscured by crosswalk paint was a Toynbee Tile.
These mysteriously started appearing in the streets of New York and Philadelphia in the mid-80's. Tiles also appeared as far off as Buenos Aires. The larger text is always a variation of "Toynbee Idea, In Movie 2001, Resurrected Dead, Planet Jupiter." Most sources seem to think this is a reference to Arnold Toynbee who once wrote about resurrecting souls to populate Jupiter. The Arthur C. Clarke novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey," and the subsequent Stanley Kubrick film, explore that theme with the resurrection of the character Dave Bowman. The point of the tiles is still a mystery.
New tiles were generally laid during the summer months. The backs of the tiles are coated with glue and the tops covered by tar paper. By the time the paper wears away, the weight of traffic would embed the tile into the soft summer asphalt. There's a 2011 documentary about the tiles called
Resurrected Dead.
Just a great, random find.
After a brief stop back at the hotel, I decided to revisit one of my favorite walks in the city. For this, I'd need to head back to the subway...downtown.
The A, L and 6 trains would bring me to the western end of the Brooklyn Bridge. I've walked across many times. Two years ago it was a chilly, crystal clear day. Today it was gray and really cold. The forecast snow began about a third of the way across. It wasn't the fluffy kind either, but the pellets that bounce off the top of your head. Somehow I just wasn't feeling very inspired for photography.
On my last trip, I hit it just right and caught the Brooklyn Bridge in the late afternoon glow. There was none of that this time.
A few years ago I decided to forego the return trip over this bridge. Just a few blocks up the waterfront sits the Manhattan Bridge. Pedestrian traffic was always very light and for most of the trip across my only companion were the police at the other end of the many surveillance cameras. I never felt unsafe though. That was my plan for the day.
The first time I did this, there were empty warehouses and storefronts. Now there are restaurants and plenty of stores. There's even a new theater about to open.
On a clear day, if you stand under the Manhattan Bridge, you can clearly see the Empire State Building through the bridge abutment.
This was the point where the snow turned into a light, but steady rain. Suddenly the idea of walking back across a bridge just didn't seem so much fun. So, I found a dry spot under the bridge, texted Brad to check in and called up a subway map on my phone. The York Street station was right around the corner.
Brad takes the train home from Penn Station, so we agree to meet at a place across the street called
Local Cafe. They have a decent beer list and the food is what you'd expect in a bar.
I walked over, grabbed a table and ordered an Alagash White. Brad walked in a few minutes later. A little backstory... My first year away at school was at Albright College. After that year I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't go back for a second year. There are three people I met that year who are still good friends to this day. Brad and I were in computer class and band together. We also did a show together on the college radio station. Sure, the station barely made it beyond campus(thus our nickname the "Twelve Watt Giant") But, we didn't care. We were having a blast.
We spent the better part of two hours catching up, telling stories and laughing. We could have stayed longer. But, the later you go, the less frequently the trains run. We said our good-byes and I called it a day. I never did make it through to the end of the Georgia/Alabama game.
Day 5 Tuesday January 9, 2018
My flight wasn’t
until 11, so I had plenty of time to get to LaGuardia Airport. There are plenty of ways to get from downtown to the airport.. I chose the 7 Train, and once again joined the mass of New Yorkers beginning their day.
Once you're out of Manhattan, the train comes up and runs over the streets of Queens. The sun was coming up and I caught brief glimpses between the buildings as I rode along. I shot this through the grimy window of the subway.
At my stop, I let the train leave before pausing for one more shot...
From here is was an easy bus ride straight to the airport and the flight home,
Dave
1/11/18
PS: Next up for the road, I put in for and am contemplating one more trip to Big Bend National Park. I thoroughly enjoyed my previous two trips. Both have been in March when it's already pushing 100 degrees. So, I've been thinking about mid-February. There are a number of long trails that would take the better part of a day. At this point it's just a thought.
